Overview
- Final assembly will take place at Airbus’s Manching facility with deliveries scheduled from 2031 to 2034.
- Each aircraft will carry the ECRS Mk1 AESA radar, and Saab’s Arexis suite will be integrated across new and in‑service jets to strengthen electronic warfare and SEAD performance.
- The order followed Bundestag budget committee approval on Oct. 8 and was formalised with NETMA and Eurofighter leaders on Oct. 15.
- The Tranche 5 jets will help take over Tornado ECR roles, while a separate Eurofighter EK effort will convert 15 aircraft for SEAD with NATO certification targeted by 2030 and €1.13 billion in development through 2033.
- Airbus and program officials frame the buy as preserving Europe’s fighter production base and as a bridge toward FCAS from 2040, with Eurofighters planned to serve into the 2060s.